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Thursday, April 29, 2010

So, I posted this on my animal advocacy blog, Ag on the Forefront, but I am so in awe over the pictures I've seen from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano, that I wanted to share here too. This volocano, that affected millions of travelers around the world, even had the World Health Organization issue a health warning to Europeans, not to mention the health affects of locals.

As I look at some of these pictures and think about animal welfare, it shows that Iceland farmers were concerned for the safety and health of their livestock, thus sealing barns and moving them to safer locations. They were out sacrificing their health (shown by the guy covered in ash) for their animals. Collected here are some images from Iceland over the past week, and check out the link below for more amazing pictures. (Drag your mouse over each picture for description.)

Monday, April 26, 2010

My truck/SUV, a 2003 Chevy Avalanche has something to share. You see, I bought this pickup myself (after taking advantage of an employee discount with Farm Credit and a nice loan from them!) in July of 2003, the summer before my senior year of high school. It was (and still is) my dream truck because it is so versatile! I can haul things, yet stuff stays clean in the back because it seals up so nice.

Ronny and I debated trading her in after we got married, but I'm just not ready. But this week, driving between Lexington and Broken Bow, Nebraska, we crossed a milestone. Ready???

10....

9….

8….

7….

6….

5….

4….

3….

2...

1….

BLAST OFF….

I really wanted my truck to start blinking its lights and to hear cheering noises to come from the stereo and confetti blown from the vents. But it didn't. Instead, she just did this...

Oh well. At least she's still running good. And for her 7th birthday, I think I'll buy her some new shocks. :)

Sunday, April 18, 2010

I was in St. Louis, MO last week for a State Staff meeting with our national headquarters, NCGA. When we weren’t in meetings, we got to do a couple fun things…like a downtown STL scavenger hunt complete with Polaroid cameras, and a Cardinals Baseball game! Here are some pictures of the fun, beautiful days:

A statue of Pinocchio in the CityGarden…beautiful spot in the middle of the city! A view of the Arch! I can’t decide which one of these is my favorite. Even though the Arch is kind of odd, it really is a beautiful piece of art!

The next day, we went to the STL Cardinals game and got to sit in the Monsanto club level suite. :) We also got there early enough to catch batting practice on the field and see Matt Holiday (who used to play for the Rockies…sad he left.)

This isn’t Matt, but another player (not sure who) but my counterparts wanted a pic. :)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

I’m currently sitting at the airport, waiting for my flight to St. Louis to head to State Staff meetings at our national headquarters, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). Our meetings are to coordinate all the state staff members on current issues, and programs and campaigns to work on for the future. I’m also sitting on a panel to discuss issues, and my role is to talk about corn-fed vs. grass-fed (grass-finished) beef.

We’ll also get to do some fun stuff! Tonight is dinner at Hard Rock Café with a scavenger hunt (who knows what that will entail) and then a Cardinals/Astros baseball game on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera cord so if I have time, I’ll update pictures with my phone, but may have to wait until I get back.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

I posted this on my agvocacy blog - Ag on the Forefront - earlier today and wanted to share here as well as it is something that I want to get out on the table and have a discussion about.

As a person who grew up only around beef cattle, and now working in the crop commodity world, I find it SO frustrating that sometimes the two don't get along. Yes, sometimes events in one industry affect the other industry, but why does 2% of the population that is involved in agriculture have to fight against eachother? We are already getting picked on by the other 98%, so we need to stick together!

This is what prefaces my frustration. It's strange that an organization representing the meat industry, so dependent on farmers, is waging war against someone so fundamental to their livelihood - but that's exactly what the American Meat Institute and its allies are doing in their opposition to corn-based ethanol. They're using deception and distortion in a new ad campaign on Capitol Hill that is designed to kill the ethanol industry and drive down the price of corn so the big food conglomerates can make more money.

In the words and daily speech of my boss, it is well known and documented that the higher corn prices and other commodities of 2008 were brought on more by the value of the dollar, speculative trading and weather, than corn being converted to ethanol. It is also well proven that it was energy prices and transportation cost that spiked food prices during that era, and ironically as commodity prices have dropped; food price index has remained strong comparatively.

The ethanol industry is critical to our farms, to all of rural America, and to our country's energy independence that we work together to support agriculture.

We need to support, not kill, U.S. jobs. Our domestic ethanol industry supported nearly 400,000 jobs in all sectors of the economy during 2009.

Corn prices are half what they were at their peak in 2008, even with ethanol production on the rise. Ethanol demand has little to do with food prices.

Compared to gasoline, ethanol provides significant environmental benefits, especially when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. EPA recognizes that corn ethanol provides a GHG reduction of up to 52 percent compared to gasoline.

The ethanol industry more than pays its way. Taking into account how much tax revenue the industry generated and the value of key tax credits, the ethanol industry generated a surplus of $3.4 billion for the federal treasury in 2009.

Welcome to our blog!

We are Kelsey & Ronny, transplanted back to Colorado after spending life after college in "The Good Life" of Nebraska. We hope to fill you on what God has planned for us, and to share about life with our miracle baby, Chisum! Both of our careers and ambition is in agriculture and we wouldn't want life any other way! You can read Kelsey's ag advocacy blog at Ag on the Forefront.